Jeřeň Motte

Welcome to this quiet and mysterious place. You are standing before the remnants of centuries of human destiny, although at first glance you might say that all you see is an overgrown hill in the landscape. Listen to the charms of the surrounding trees and let them transfer you to the times long past, when there was a proud mansion. What you are looking at now is the extinct medieval fortress Jeřeň. There is a landscape surrounding you where once there were people who shaped our region. Try to imagine what this landscape looked like centuries ago when it was a living center of action.

Let's look deeper into the history of this place so we can understand how it was created and who was behind it. The village Jeřeň itself is documented in writing already in the year one thousand twenty-eight, which in itself shows that the land here lured to settlement very soon. The fortress as such then entered the written sources a little later, namely in the year one thousand three hundred twenty-one. It was built as the manor of local governments who managed their manor from here, protected their property and lived with their daily joys and worries. Over the centuries, a number of important owners have been replaced. In the year one thousand and three hundred and eighty-two, the estate was sold to the mighty masters of Rýzmburk, indicating the growing strategic and economic importance of this mansion.

Now pay attention to what has been preserved from the entire building to this day. Although the physical form of the buildings was taken for its own, the terrain relics still tell us very clearly about the former form of the fortress. In front of you is a round fortress, which has been protected since nineteen hundred sixty-four as a valuable cultural monument. The central hill of this fortress had respectable dimensions, its diameter was 40 meters. When you look around you carefully, notice the terrain inequalities. The hill once encircled a deep moat, a part of which was still partially preserved on the east side. It was this ditch that provided the people with the necessary protection from danger. The archaeological findings confirm that this site was actively used from the third to the 16th century. Inside this fortified space once stood a brick building, which formed the heart of the entire mansion and provided the background to the then masters.

Behind the walls of this fortress, human stories of power, property transformations and important decisions were developed. A number of historical personalities are associated with this place, whose names reflect in historical sources. There were flags like Konrád Třebovský, Oldřich z Jeřně, Evan z Jeřně or Heřman z Jeřně. Later, powerful nobles, among whom there were no Boreš z Oseka, Jan Vykart ze Šanova, Aleš ze Šanova or Jan Valdemar z Lobkovic, entered history. Each of these men left a print on the manor, whether through building modifications, economic decisions or political ties in the then kingdom.

When you look at the central hill and imagine a former moat, you touch the secrets that archaeologists gradually uncover. They found that inside there was a brick building whose exact form and interior arrangements still attract research efforts to further research. The place has a strange atmosphere of peace and melancholy, where nature slowly takes over what people left centuries ago.

We hope you enjoyed this stop in time. You can stay in place for a while, perceive the genius loci of this ancient site and let your thoughts flow in the rhythm of history. Thank you for listening to our guide, and we wish you a beautiful ongoing experience of your discoveries around. Goodbye.